Mobility and independent living at home are two essential contributions to life satisfaction in old age; Considering age differences in technology use performance and the potential benefits of technology use, it seems fair to say that careless design may render older people "older" than they are and that careful "universal" design might contribute to make them effectively "young by design".

This presentation gives an overview of two research projects on such a "universal design" approach; the first (ALISA), dealing with the use of a ticket vending machine has been completed and results from a 2x3 factorial experiment (N=124) will be reported, the second (SMILEY), dealing with Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is work in progress and results from interviews as part of a user needs and requirements analysis (N= 87) will be reported.